Tag Archive | "photovoltaic"

According to the Global New Energy Development Report 2014, China has surpassed Germany as the world’s largest PV market. The report, which was prepared by Hanergy Holding Group and China New Energy Chamber of Commerce, provided a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the global renewable energy market.

The global PV market saw 38.7 GW of new capacity installed in 2013, bringing the cumulative installed PV capacity to 140.6 GW, the report said. New PV installations in China saw the addition of 12 GW in 2013, up 232 percent year on year, demonstrating that the global PV market has gradually shifted from Europe to Asia.

The global new energy industry experienced sustained growth in 2013, as governments aligned their national energy mix to eliminate pollutants and improve the ecological environment, China New Energy Chamber of Commerce vice president Zeng Shaojun said. Chinese companies will be investing more heavily in technological advances and accelerate their pace of going global, in an effort to increase their shares in the global new energy market, Zeng added.

Since 2012, Chinese regulators have been releasing a series of policies and measures, including the State Council’s Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of the PV industry, significantly propelling the development of the country’s solar power market. As of the end of 2013, China’s grid-connected solar capacity reached 14.79 GW, up 340 percent year on year.

During the previous few years, China’s PV export demand had plunged on weak economic growth in Europe and the U.S., lower subsidies for exports to major European and U.S. markets as well as protectionist policies. However, the PV industry took a favorable turn in 2013 thanks to the country’s optimization of its export structure by shifting to emerging markets. China’s exports of solar cells and modules to Asia surged 124 percent year on year to US $5.5 billion in 2013, accounting for 44.8 percent of the total, while those to Europe fell 62 percent to US $3.72 billion. During that same year, the country exported US $570 million of solar cells and modules to Africa, up 387 percent from the previous year.

In 2013 many industry players, including Ningxia Sunshine Silicon Industry, were forced to declare bankruptcy due to a severe overcapacity in the global PV market. The exit of weaker competitors brought about a higher market concentration, giving an impetus to a new round, yet, more structured development of China’s PV industry.

China’s PV industry is expected to see a continued recovery in 2014, as economies in Europe and the U.S. stabilize and demand from emerging markets increases. The National Energy Administration announced on May 22 that the country aims to add 14 GW of installed PV capacity in 2014, up 24 percent from 2013.

WEG has supplied a complete solar photovoltaic plant for the Energy Company, Pernambuco State (Celpe), part of the Neoenergia group. The plant is installed at the Air Force Command and will supply 4.6% of the total energy consumption of the island, which represents a saving of almost 10% of the annual consumption of diesel.

The new Fernando de Noronha plant is part of the Celpe Energy Efficiency Program regulated by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), which is conducted in partnership with the Air Force Command. The distance from the mainland hinders the use of energy through the network distribution centre, making the sun an attractive energy source in comparison to fossil fuels.

“Some hotels on the island already use solar energy to heat water; however, this is a pioneer project for electricity generation,” said Ana Christina Mascarenhas, the spokeswoman for Neoenergia Energy Efficiency Group. “The installation of a photovoltaic solar power plant, in addition to the benefits to the environment, promotes training in this new technology and helps expand the installation of this system of power generation.”

An additional project to install a second plant that will generate 500 kWp is currently awaiting authorisation from the relevant environmental agencies. As a further element to the project, wider strategies are being defined for the use of renewable energy on the island.

BEIJING — Zhejiang province posted US$340 million in exports of photovoltaic (PV) products for the first quarter of this year, an increase of 18 percent over the same period last year. The rise is primarily attributable to industry expansion into emerging markets. Exports to Japan increased 121 percent year-on-year, while those to ASEAN countries increased 843 percent.

“China’s PV products previously were mainly exported to the U.S. and to European countries, but now exports to emerging markets account for more than 80 percent of the total,” said Shen Fuxin, secretary general of the Zhejiang Solar Energy Industry Association.

Since 2011, EU countries and the U.S. have initiatedanti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations over PV imports from China. Most recently, the EU imposed definitive measures on Chinese solar panels in the form of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. These duties, ranging from 47.7 percent to 64.9 percent, will be valid for the two years starting 6 December 2013. This lead to dramatic decreases in the level of exports from many Chinese PV companies and was a major factor in Suntech Power’s bankruptcy, a leader in the field.

In order to offset the decrease, the PV industry across Zhejiang province began to expand into new markets while improving product competitiveness through technical innovations.

The more than two years of efforts are paying off. In 2013, the province’s PV industry achieved sales of 70 billion yuan (approx. US$11.2 billion), with Risen Energy, Zhejiang Sunflower Light Energy Science & Technology, ReneSola and JinkoSolar seeing continuous improvement in their competitiveness.

Of the $340 million export number, solar cell exports brought in $290 million, up 23 percent year-on-year, with the top five export destinations being Japan (+121 percent), Taiwan (+31 percent), ASEAN (+823 percent), the U.K. (+497 percent) and South Africa (+600 percent). “Exports to the U.S. and the European continent accounted for only 17 percent of the total,” said Shen.

Solar cell exports via the province’s Ningbo port increased despite the down market, thanks to the expansion efforts. During the first quarter of this year, exports via the port totaled 3.16 million units, valued at 1.67 billion yuan, up 53.7 percent and 13.4 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

Exports to emerging markets demonstrated an outstanding performance, with those to South Korea surging 112 times to 672,000 units, India 58.3 percent to 430,000 units and South Africa 140 times to 396,000 units.

Also dampened by EU tariffs, Ningbo’s solar cell exports to EU countries amounted to only 264,000 units in the first three months of this year, down 74.4 percent over the same period of last year.

While export volume of solar cells increased this year, the average export price dropped 26.2 percent from a year earlier, a source at Ningbo Customs revealed. This was mainly due to the intensifying price war between solar cell makers. It is encouraging that the city of Ningbo has issued new rules whereby the local government provides additional subsidies for qualified PV modules and encourages PV exporters to strengthen development of the domestic market.